Nokia C1-02 review

Summary

Our Score:

Pros

Cons

Ugly screen

No camera

No downloadable apps

Key Features

1.8in 128x160 pixel screen

FM radio

3.5mm headphone jack

microUSB slot

Proprietary OS

Manufacturer: Nokia

Review Price: free/subscription

The Nokia C1-02 is Nokia's latest ultra-budget phone. It boasts few features, but if you need a phone to use and abuse or one whose battery will last longer than the smartphone average of two days, it may be worth a look.

There's no ceremony to the design of the Nokia C1-02 - even compared with the C1-01 it seems like the vanilla option. We took a look at the black version of the handset, but those looking for a spot of colour may prefer the pink and blue versions Nokia also produces. These coloured editions keep the black main body of the phone though, making do with a coloured backplate and fascia.

The battery cover makes up the entire back of the phone, and in-common with most budget Nokia phones construction feels solid. With a basic design, all-plastic construction and 77.5g weight though, you'll have to try pretty hard to convince yourself that this is anything but a budget phone.

There's a lot to admire about Nokia's no-nonsense approach to the C1-02 though. It has left the mobile-staple camera out entirely, which would have been borderline useless at this price point. To balance this out, there are a few additions that are left out of many ultra-budget phones. Top of the list is a 3.5mm headphone jack, letting you use your own earphones to listen to music or the FM radio without an adaptor. This is a feature left out of many budget Sony Ericsson rivals, for instance.

Underneath the battery cover there's a microSD card slot, which supports cards up to 32GB according to Nokia. We didn't have such a large card to hand to test this out, but the phone had no trouble with card hot-swapping in our tests, re-scanning for music and photos where necessary without a hitch.

On the phone's side, next to the proprietary charge socket, is a microUSB slot. When connected to a PC, the Nokia C1-02 lets you access your phone's memory using mass storage mode or through the Ovi Sync software. With no camera on-board this slot won't be of much use unless you intend to make the phone double as a media player, but it's a worthwhile addition nevertheless.

There's no physical volume button, which may irritate those used to being able to thumb a side volume rocker to change media or call volume quickly. Instead, volume is changed using the D-pad that surrounds the main select button on the phone's front.

Wireless connectivity is very limited. Bluetooth and GPRS mobile internet are in, but the faster EDGE and HSPA "3G" internet capabilities are missing. This is a basic phone, and is not intended as a web surfing tool, even if it is capable of the odd emergency browsing session.

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